This is a historical and genealogical guide to the county of Bristol. You will find help with town histories, vital records, deeds and land records, city directories, cemetery records and cemeteries, churches, town records, newspapers, maps, and libraries.

Bristol County Massachusetts History

Brief History

Bristol County was settled by the Pilgrims who came from older towns in what is now Plymouth County. The area was at the center of the King Philip's War in 1675/6 and many settlers temporary moved back to the east. Though records are on a county system for land and probate records, the is divided into several districts for each.

Historical Data

The basic data are from the historical county boundary series[1] with additions from various sources.

Dates

Events

2 June 1685

Bristol was one of the three original counties of New Plymouth Colony. [Ply. Laws, Ch. 6, p. 19]

7 Oct. 1691

Bristol became a county in the rechartered Massachusetts Bay Colony with no change to its borders. [Mass. Col. Acts, Vol. 1, Ch. 27 [1692/3], Sec. 1, p. 63]

Lost about 130 square miles of its western border to Rhode Island by implementation of a Royal settlement moving the towns of Barrington, Bristol, Little Compton, Tiverton, and a large portion of what would become Cumberland into that province.

Gained from Tiverton, Newport Co., R.I., and Warren, Bristol Co., R.I., and lost to Providence Co., R.I., to what became East Providence and the eastern part of Pawtucket. [R.I. Acts, 1861, Ch. 379, p. 4-6]

Towns and Cities

The following list of present-day Bristol County towns and cities links them to their individual pages. There you will find a list of other names used for the town or city and of villages and sections of the town or city.

Bristol County Massachusetts Genealogy Resources

Vital Records

In Massachusetts, the original vital records (of births, marriages, and deaths) have been created and maintained by the town or city in which the event occurred. In very early colonial times, copies of these records were submitted to the county, but that practice died out long before 1700. There were marriage intentions commonly recorded in the bride's home town and additional recordings maybe found in the groom's home town and their current residence.

Massachusetts was the first state to bring a unified state-level recording of these events (but not marriage intentions) in 1841 (Boston excluded until 1850). The associated records of divorce and adoption are handled by the courts. The state has maintained a state-wide index to divorces since 1952, but adoption records will require more researching to discover.

It is easiest to start with the state vital records for events since 1841, though realize the original record is with the town or city. More details can be found on the Massachusetts Genealogy Guide page.

Land Records

Land transfers, commonly called deeds, are recorded on the county level in Massachusetts. Not all deeds were recorded as is common practice today. The earliest transactions were charters or grants from the English Crown. Once local government was established, the colony would grant land to settlers directly or to towns to dole out. Some towns first start out as proprietorship and records were recorded there. Once towns were established, deeds were recorded on the county level.

Records are available at the Registry. Their original records started in 1884 and ONLINE are: [Note: start dates are not given]:

Recorded Land [i.e. deeds], 1971-present.Books 1-1024 (1884-1971) images are available online, but the book and page must be known.

Recorded Plans, n/a.

Registered Land [i.e. land court], n/a.

Registered Land Plans, n/a.

Original records on microfilm

Fall River District Deeds, 1-153 (1686-1891), and 1-70 (1891-1900); Index, grantee to 1911, grantor to 1901, at FHL film 572430 (1st of 123).Note: The earliest deeds are copies from the Taunton District.

Record of deeds in the land records of the town of Tiverton: pertaining to real estate formerly in the town of Tiverton but now in the State of Mass., 1746-1817, at FHL films 573251-573255.

Original records online

The above microfilms are digitized and available at FamilySearch.org.Caveat: These records are yet to be indexed AND all three districts are mixed together without distinction.

Probate Records

Probate and Family Court is organized on a county level in Massachusetts since the creation of the counties. The main records genealogists seek are testate (wills), intestate (administrations), guardianships, and divorces (since 1922), though there are many more that are valuable to any researcher, too. See a further discussion of the topic in general on the Massachusetts Genealogy Guide.

Other Court Records

The court system can appear to be complex. The system was reorganized in 1686/1692, 1859, and 1978. Described below are the most commonly used records for history and genealogy, but realize that this list is incomplete. For more detailed information regarding court structure, see Understanding the Massachusetts Court System.

Quarterly Court of General Sessions of the Peace

This court was active from 1692 to 1827. The court heard criminal cases and had authority over county affairs that included levying taxes, reviewing town bylaws, highways, licensed liquor, regulated jails, supervised the administration of the poor laws, and appointed some county officials.

Superior Court

The Quarterly Court of General Sessions was merged into the Inferior Court of Common Pleas in 1827, and that court was reorganized in 1859 to created the Superior Court as the new lower (i.e. trial) court. It covers both criminal and civil matters.

Supreme Judicial Court

The Supreme Judicial Court was established by the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780 that combined the former Governor and Council with the Superior Court of Judicature creating the highest state court. This court hears appeals, writ of error, capital offenses, and crimes against the public good. That included divorces until that action was moved to the lower court in 1887.

Naturalization Records

Naturalization records were created on a variety of governmental levels from the Federal down to the city at the same time. The county records for all levels are outlines below. For more information, see the Massachusetts state page for more on naturalization.

Maps

There are so many published maps of interest to genealogists and historians that this list will not be recreated here. The focus is with resources you can access online and in the Family History Library.